1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drug vessel and, more particularly, a vessel for holding a drug such as powdered or freeze-dried medicines, which is useful for aseptically mixing the drug contained therein with a solvent or solution and for parenterally administrating the resultant solution to a patient.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In medical facilities such as hospitals, a dose of a medicine is mixed with a solvent or diluent just before use and the resultant solution is intravenously administered to a patient as a fluid therapy. Medicines used for such a purpose are generally supplied in the form of a dry preparation such as powder or freeze-dried preparation and packaged in a vessel or vial because of its poor conservation stability in a liquid state or of any other reasons. In order to dissolve the dry preparation in a solvent or a diluent contained in a liquid container, it is therefore required to connect the medicine vessel or vial to the liquid container by means of a connecting device such as a double ended needle or a connecting tube to transfer the solvent or diluent to the medicine vessel.
However, the procedures are very troublesome and take a long time. In addition, there is a fear of contamination of the medicine contained in the vessel as it is required to make a hole in the medicine vessel in the atmosphere to connect it with the liquid container.
To solve such problems, there have been proposed various drug delivery systems. For example, JP-T- S61-501129, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,971, discloses a closed drug delivery system comprising a flexible container having a liquid diluent therein, a capsule coupled to the flexible container, a drug vial having a drug therein and being supported in the capsule, and a means for coupling the capsule to the interior of the flexible container. In this system, the drug vial is communicated to the flexible container through a communicating means arranged in the coupling means, thus making it possible to aseptically mix the drug with the solvent.
However, this drug delivery system has such a disadvantage that reconstitution of the drug is limited to one drug as the drug vial and diluent container are in a pair.
JP-A- H2-1277, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,841, discloses a device comprising a solvent container having a solvent therein, a capsule having a drug vial therein and adapted to be connected at its connecting portion to a mouth portion of the solvent container, and a communicating means arranged in the connecting portion of the drug vial. In this system, the communicating means is firstly pierced into the drug vial and then pierced into the solvent container to communicate the drug vial to the solvent container, thereby aseptically mixing the drug with the solvent.
JP-A- H3-37067 discloses a drug delivery system comprising a drug vial, a communicating means and a solvent container, all of which are arranged in order, covered and sealed by a synthetic resin sheet. The system further includes a supporting means mounted on the resin sheet and arranged between the drug vial and the container so as to prevent the two vessels from close to each other until aseptic communicating and mixing operations have done.
JP-A- S59-209535, corresponding to U.S. Ser. No. 470,105 and 565,126, discloses a drug delivery system comprising a first flexible vessel having an opening at one end, and a second vessel having a removable stopper and capable of being fixed to the bottom wall of the first vessel therethrough, and a stopper removing means having a portion engaging with the stopper. The drug delivery system may be improved by use of vessels in JP-A- S62-137056 (corresponding to U.S. Ser. No. 806,782) and H2-4375 (corresponding to U.S. Ser. No. 138,810). Improved delivery system is disclosed in JP-B- H2-26506.
However, the drug delivery system of the prior art is complex in structure and the first vessel is limited to a flexible vessel, and that the stopper falls off in the first vessel.